Read a PDF of our statement here.
MEDIA CONTACT: LDF Media,media@naacpldf.org;ACLU of Florida Media Office,media@aclufl.org, (786) 363-2737;
The coalition of civil rights groups is currently challenging last years STOP W.O.K.E. cnsorship law
TALLAHASSEE, FLThe Senate Fiscal Policy Committee voted yesterday to pass Senate Bill 266 (SB 266), which would enact draconian restrictions on academic freedom and chill speech on college and university campuses. The bill undermines tenure and puts critical faculty decisions, including hiring and retention, in the hands of political appointees. It also prohibits university spending on activities, speakers, events, and clubs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, threatening groups like historically Black sororities and fraternities and their ability to engage in activities and programming related to diversity, racism, oppression, and sexism.
The House Education and Employment Committee voted on Wednesday to pass the companion bill, House Bill 999 (HB 999). These bills could go to floor votes in their respective chambers as early as next week.
The bills target academic freedom in higher education one year after the passage of the unconstitutional Stop W.O.K.E censorship law, which wasblocked by a federal court in November 2022following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Florida, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), and Ballard Spahr on behalf of seven educators and one student.
Katie Blakenship, deputy legal director at the ACLU of Florida, responded with the following:
These bills target academic freedom in higher education, despite the fact that last years censorship law was blocked by a federal court in November and remains blocked to this day. They are intentionally harmful and attempt to erase the history and lived experiences of Americans of color, especially those who fought and continue to fight for equality. The bills will cause confusion and chill free speech, and their lasting effects would harm Floridians for generations. Furthermore, Black college students must now wonder if their historical societies, which played critical roles in the fight for civil rights and continue to serve as spaces that create community and cultural integration, will be targeted and whether their mission and activities promoting diversity and inclusion will be stifled. Every student deserves to learn in an environment free from government censorship. Every educator deserves the opportunity to do their job free from fear. A free society doesnt limit what people can teach and learn in their institutions of higher education.
Leah Watson, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Program, shared the following:
These bills further the state of Floridas ongoing attempts to eliminate discussions of systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege from university programs and activities to undermine progress toward racial justice. Contrary to decades of research, the Stop W.O.K.E. Act censored higher education faculty from instruction that would teach students about the existence and current manifestations of these concepts. Now, the legislature seeks to erase them from campus life more broadly by prohibiting spending on any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This attack on DEI will remove important support for students of color, erase their heritage from campuses and classrooms, and ultimately lead to increased racial bias.
Charles McLaurin, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), responded with the following:
This expansion of Floridas Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which only serves to put the states education system at the mercy of political players, dangerously threatens educators and students abilities to teach and learn about their countrys history, and its impact on the present, both truthfully and accurately. We must be clear that this proposed legislation would only serve to harm the quality of higher education in the stateespecially for Black students, other students of color, and LGBTQ+ students whose histories, voices, and lived experiences would be willfully erased. Furthermore, this bill threatens the states ability to maintain a racially diverse student and teaching body, including Black professors, who are already severely underrepresented in academia. All educators and students in Florida classrooms and on college campuses are entitled to high-quality, accurate learning.
View original post here:
- Jackboot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- The US Government's Oppression of the Poor, Homeless [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- The US Government's Oppression of the Poor, Homeless [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Protection, Oppression, and Liberty: How Much Government? [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Oppression How Is it Defined in Women s History? [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- Liberalism and Conservatism - Regis University [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2016]
- American Patriot Friends Network APFN [Last Updated On: June 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 27th, 2016]
- Government news, articles and information: [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Opinion: While true oppression exists, hypocrisy of some women is clear - Shelby Township Source Newspapers [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- A Modern Choice on Life - Harvard Political Review [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- FG yet to address our forefathers' fear of oppression NAIG ... - Vanguard [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Understanding Information Oppression in the Era of Trump - MediaFile [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Angolans Bravery Broke Down Chains of Colonial Oppression - Minister - AllAfrica.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Centrelink bogus debts: How far can the vulnerable be pushed before they break? - Independent Australia [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Joe's View: Privacy, where next? - Digital Health [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Bill passage would rename Columbus Day, honor Native Americans in Nevada - Las Vegas Review-Journal [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- EFCC is an instrument for political oppression Ozekhome - Naija247news [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Collin Nji: The first African to win Google's CodeIn Challenge - Pulse ... - Pulse Nigeria [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Open Letter to NFL Players Traveling to Israel on a Trip Organized by Netanyahu's Government - The Nation. [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Turkey's HDP Women's Assembly issues feminist call-to-arms against 'one man rule' - Left Foot Forward [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Education Expert: Betsy DeVos Should Address Local Control Before School Choice - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Student leader says 'black-on-black crime is not a thing,' wants to censor those who say it is - The College Fix [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- LETTER: Evangelical Lutheran Church respond to political cartoon - The Dickinson Press [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Israeli Knesset 'legalizes' robbery of Palestinian land - Liberation [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Organize to defeat Trump's Muslim ban - Fight Back! Newspaper [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Do we have a legitimate government? - Altoona Mirror [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Anti-Trump Swedish Government Accused of Hypocrisy for Kowtowing to Iran - Heat Street [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Israeli government awards the Israel Prize to 96-year-old retired Olympic gymnast and Holocaust survivor gnes Keleti. - Jewish Chronicle [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Russ Boehm: This year, it's tough being a Boulder County Democrat - Longmont Times-Call [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Anti-Castro Cuban-American lawmakers see a champion in Trump - The Ledger [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Sweden's 'Feminist' Government Defends Veiling in Iran After Attacking Trump - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Do we have a legitimate government? - Williamsport Sun-Gazette [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- U. Mass Students Plot Strike Against 'Oppression' of Migrants - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- As I See It: The perils facing the Constitution - Corvallis Gazette Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Us & Them: Love, the Ayatollah & Revolution - West Virginia Public Broadcasting [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Ethiopian Athlete Who Made Anti-government Gesture in Rio Reunites With Family - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Mottley: Tax clearance certificate an 'instrument of oppression' - Loop Barbados [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Sweden's 'feminist' government criticized for wearing headscarves in Iran - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Christophobia: A Global Perspective - FrontPage Magazine [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Fox News' Todd Starnes Redefines 'The Deplorables' - Forward [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Turkey purge: dark cloud of oppression hangs over country's universities - Times Higher Education (THE) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- The New Gambia: What's on and off the aid agenda - Devex [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Christophobia: a Global Perspective - AINA (press release) [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- AzaadiFreedom from Indian Oppression - Economic and Political Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul - McClatchy Washington Bureau [Last Updated On: February 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 19th, 2017]
- UC San Diego Students Protest Visit by 'Oppressive and Offensive' Dalai Lama - Heat Street [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- We must all stand with Tibet The McGill Daily - The McGill Daily (blog) [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere - Royal Gazette [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Elders share experiences with oppression from their youth - B.C. Catholic Newspaper [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- In Trump's America, Christian proselytizing is another form of oppression - LGBTQ Nation [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Amnesty report reveals excessive oppression in Kashmir - Daily Times [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Grass-roots leaders join call for 'disrupting' oppression that hurts many - Catholic News Service [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Governor Treen brought sunshine to Louisiana governmental conservatism - Bayoubuzz [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- I want an international probe into failed Turkey coup Fethullah Glen - Citifmonline [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- On finding freedom from oppression, fear - Davisclipper [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Lateral Oppression Hurts Us All - The Lakota Country Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Disobedience Checks Unjust Laws - The Oberlin Review [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Cycles and Oppression - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Opinion: The Relevance of Orwell's 1984 - Emertainment Monthly (registration) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- McAuliffe vetoes bill to disclose refugee records - WRIC [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Another Jewish cemetery desecrated; what will the President say? Isn't the government supposed to help? - San Diego Jewish World [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Transport groups hold nationwide transport strike to protest government's PUV modernization program - CNN Philippines [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Monitoring group documents Turkey-backed profiling in Netherlands - Turkey Purge [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- The Sin of 'Just Doing Our Job' - Sojourners [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- What should we see in the ashes of the Standing Rock protest camp? - Liberation [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Opinion: Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big ... - CNN [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Nepalese Student Suskihanna Gurung Portrays Chinese Oppression Through Photography - Study Breaks [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- ISIS Threatens China In New Video Showing Chinese Jihadists - Vocativ [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big picture - Gant Daily [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Donegal Travellers Project welcomes government recognition of Traveller ethnicity - Donegal Now [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- This Is Why The Youth Is Picking Up Arms In Kashmir - Youth Ki Awaaz [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Saudi Arabia: Music video and government initiatives split society - Freemuse [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- From Latin America to South Africa: it's time for effective solidarity towards Palestine - The Daily Vox (blog) [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Articles: Islam, the Veil, and Oppression - American Thinker - American Thinker [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Focusing on religious oppression in China misses the big picture - CNN [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Public needs to help get government back on track - Fairfield Daily Republic [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal Hearings On Myanmar Crimes Against Rohingya & Kachin - The Chicago Monitor [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Oppression in the Land of the Free: A Muslim Leader Speaks Out ... - teleSUR English [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- The Readers' Forum: Monday letters - Winston-Salem Journal [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- How America Became a Colonial Ruler in Its Own Cities - Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]